Alex, Payne Park’s greatest ambassador, is retiring

For the past 14 years, Zdravko Alexandrov, a.k.a. Alex, was the first person who greeted tennis players at Payne Park.

COURTESY PHOTO

Published: Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 12:21 a.m.

The photo on the county identification badge Alex wears around his neck is faded almost beyond recognition. But after 14 years on the job behind the desk at the Payne Park Tennis Center, he hardly needs any stinking ID card.

Almost everybody who walks through the doors at the Payne Park Tennis Center is on a first name basis with Alex. Few get to the tennis courts without ol' Alex, in his heavy Bulgarian accent, engaging them in some sort of conversation.

"He is probably our biggest ambassador, a great personality," says Sean Rogers, tennis director at Payne Park. "He is very well known."

Sure, they all know Alex. Yet few know his first name is actually Zdravko, and that Alexandrov is his last name.

Or that Zdravko Alexandrov, performing under his family name of Dobritch, was one of the great circus performers of his time.

Alex will work his final day at the tennis desk at Payne Park on Sunday. At the age of 77 he is ready for retirement.

"It is time," he says. "I have been working since before I was seven. I started as a boy in the circus."

He will continue to string rackets, something he has done for more than 30 years. He has set up a web site, alexthestringer.com, to help keep his hand in the game he is passionate about. But the daily grind ends Sunday.

There is some gardening to do. There are house repairs waiting his attention. And there are the memories.

Oh, what memories he has. There were those heady days when applause from crowds in the great cities around the world were a daily reward. There were trips to the White House, conversations with kings and queens, princes, and movie stars, including the great comic Charlie Chaplin.

And there was an act that Alex performed that stunned circus crowds everywhere, an act that he insists has not been attempted since he last performed it three decades ago. "I was the only one," he says. Well, there were also the three wives who were also part of the act over the years.

Evidence of the act remains today through YouTube — go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHRPJRl7kU — in video shot for CBS television during the 1978 Monte Carlo Circus Festival, an event judged by, among others, film stars Cary Grant and Sean Connery, as well as John Ringling North. The show was hosted by Telly Savalas and shown nationally.

You have to see the stunt to believe it. In the clip, Alex balances a 15-foot pole on his forehead while his second wife, Kornelia, climbs to the top of the pole. Then, with the pole still balanced on his forehead, Alex climbs a 15-foot pole rising from the ground. At the top, Kornelia does a head stand before Alex decends the pole ... with the other pole still balanced on his forehead.

"It was amazing," says his daughter, Gina Alexandrov-Heimbuch. "I would watch their performance then had to go back to the trailer before the animal acts came out."

And Alexandrov ended each performance with a kiss for his assistant, followed by a big smile for the crowd.

A product of three generations of circus performers, Alex learned his trade from his grandfather. Throughout the years, he has taught many acrobats the tricks of that trade.

He also was an accomplished table tennis player and quickly learned how to play tennis. When he moved to Sarasota, tennis became a big part of his life ... on and off the court.

"He loves the tennis community, that is for sure," Rogers says.

Alexandrov has been helping out around the tennis courts longer than the 14 years he has worked for the county. He worked at the tennis facility when it was located near the water at 10th street and was known as the city courts.

Sunday that run ends. Stop by Payne Park and say hello to Alex. Then say goodbye and help wish Alex a wonderful retirement.

<p>The photo on the county identification badge Alex wears around his neck is faded almost beyond recognition. But after 14 years on the job behind the desk at the Payne Park Tennis Center, he hardly needs any stinking ID card.</p><p>Almost everybody who walks through the doors at the Payne Park Tennis Center is on a first name basis with Alex. Few get to the tennis courts without ol' Alex, in his heavy Bulgarian accent, engaging them in some sort of conversation.</p><p>"He is probably our biggest ambassador, a great personality," says Sean Rogers, tennis director at Payne Park. "He is very well known."</p><p>Sure, they all know Alex. Yet few know his first name is actually Zdravko, and that Alexandrov is his last name.</p><p>Or that Zdravko Alexandrov, performing under his family name of Dobritch, was one of the great circus performers of his time.</p><p>Alex will work his final day at the tennis desk at Payne Park on Sunday. At the age of 77 he is ready for retirement.</p><p>"It is time," he says. "I have been working since before I was seven. I started as a boy in the circus."</p><p>He will continue to string rackets, something he has done for more than 30 years. He has set up a web site, alexthestringer.com, to help keep his hand in the game he is passionate about. But the daily grind ends Sunday.</p><p>There is some gardening to do. There are house repairs waiting his attention. And there are the memories.</p><p>Oh, what memories he has. There were those heady days when applause from crowds in the great cities around the world were a daily reward. There were trips to the White House, conversations with kings and queens, princes, and movie stars, including the great comic Charlie Chaplin.</p><p>And there was an act that Alex performed that stunned circus crowds everywhere, an act that he insists has not been attempted since he last performed it three decades ago. "I was the only one," he says. Well, there were also the three wives who were also part of the act over the years.</p><p>Evidence of the act remains today through YouTube — go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHRPJRl7kU — in video shot for CBS television during the 1978 Monte Carlo Circus Festival, an event judged by, among others, film stars Cary Grant and Sean Connery, as well as John Ringling North. The show was hosted by Telly Savalas and shown nationally.</p><p>You have to see the stunt to believe it. In the clip, Alex balances a 15-foot pole on his forehead while his second wife, Kornelia, climbs to the top of the pole. Then, with the pole still balanced on his forehead, Alex climbs a 15-foot pole rising from the ground. At the top, Kornelia does a head stand before Alex decends the pole ... with the other pole still balanced on his forehead.</p><p>"It was amazing," says his daughter, Gina Alexandrov-Heimbuch. "I would watch their performance then had to go back to the trailer before the animal acts came out."</p><p>And Alexandrov ended each performance with a kiss for his assistant, followed by a big smile for the crowd.</p><p>A product of three generations of circus performers, Alex learned his trade from his grandfather. Throughout the years, he has taught many acrobats the tricks of that trade.</p><p>He also was an accomplished table tennis player and quickly learned how to play tennis. When he moved to Sarasota, tennis became a big part of his life ... on and off the court.</p><p>"He loves the tennis community, that is for sure," Rogers says.</p><p>Alexandrov has been helping out around the tennis courts longer than the 14 years he has worked for the county. He worked at the tennis facility when it was located near the water at 10th street and was known as the city courts. </p><p>Sunday that run ends. Stop by Payne Park and say hello to Alex. Then say goodbye and help wish Alex a wonderful retirement.</p>